Friday, January 31, 2014

If A Walk in My Shoes taught me anything, is that there's more propaganda out there than I thought. Now, the makers of "Elf on the Shelf" have made a twenty-six minute short film that is nothing but nonsense for kids. This short revolves around Chippey (What's That?) who is sent from the North Pole to help make a child believe in Santa Clause again.

This short film is short of nothing but annoying music numbers that will make anyone over the age of six annoyed. And this biggest thing that puzzled me over this is that if someone touches an "Elf on the Shelf", it looses its power. Then how the hell do you get it out of the box? .5/5

Video: 5/5

Considering that this is completely computer animation, the video presentation is flawless. There's also the short film in stereoscopic 3D, but, I don't have equipment to view it. Despite that setback, presented in 1.78:1, the video is crystal clear. 5/5.

Audio: 5/5

There's two audio tracks for the short, English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and a LPCM 2.0 stereo track. Default track is the LPCM, why make two mixes is beyond me. It sounds fine for what it is. No complaints, I've complained enough and at the same time, I haven't. 5/5.

Extras: 1/5

There's a two minute trailer for this "short" film. However, I don't know where this trailer came from and who played it because this thing breaks down the whole twenty-five minute short in two minutes. It's like an old school digest 8mm film that you could buy back in the day.

There's a ten minute making of and I found it down right disturbing that this is a family affair. I find it so bizarre how they feel like they made a real movie. If this was fifty minutes longer than what it was, I could understand. This is only twenty-five minutes! They talk about scenes they like where these scenes only last two seconds! Smurfin' smurf, man!

Finally, we have a commentary track that is torture. Whoever the man is who is talking to the women, he sounds like Kenneth from 30 Rock. This is nothing but a self-serving commentary track that's missing lotion. These people clearly have no idea how ADR works as the woman talks about how the actor doing the voice for Santa was putting emotion in to the ADR and throwing his arms in the air.

And finally we have a DVD copy, because why not? Clearly if someone buys a DVD, they don't get a Blu-ray copy with it, so let's give the Blu-ray buyer a DVD for the hell of it. Please... Don't make me sick. I give these bonus materials a painful 1/5.

Overall: 3/5

It pains me to give this Blu-ray the score it gets. It doesn't deserve it. If you do or don't have kids, for the love of everything holy, run away! I paid $4 for this and I regret it since I watched this. Don't be fooled, it does not deserve a 3/5. Maybe Chip Chipperson will love it or at least love Chippey.

Note: While the German release does not contain the original Indonesian score, I am not docking points for this release.

The Raid: Redemption tells the tale of a group of special ops who raid a building ran by a drug kingpin. Once inside, they have their cover blown and every vicious killer in the building is out for their heads. Rama (Iko Uwais, Merantau) is a tough soldier who soon takes the lead as he is cut off from his squad leader, Jaka (Joe Taslim; Fast & Furious 6) and other members from the squad. They all realize that the only way out is to go all the way to the top to face the leader of the building.

The movie is an action roller coaster. This was one of the first movies that I had seen after I survived getting hit by a car in 2012. I had to go to a small indie movie theater in Columbus, OH because it was the closest theater playing it. I was still heavily medicated at the time I saw it, so, I think the medicine I was on made me enjoy it more. The theater in my town finally got it a few weeks after and saw it digitally for my second showing of the film. Still loved it. 5/5.

Video: 3/5

Shot in HD, Koch Media uses Sony's transfer of the film. The transfer is very problematic. When I saw it on celluloid the first time, I don't remember it looking that rough. Seeing it on home video on Blu-ray, it looks rough with macro problems all over the place if it's not a close up shot. If I had to guess, this was shot in 720p. I give the video 3/5.

Audio: 5/5

We have two audio tracks for the film; Indonesian and a German dub DTS-HD MA 5.1 tracks. Both tracks sounded evenly good. I have no doubt that the Indonesian audio is probably the same track that is found on the U.S. Blu-ray. I give the audio presentations 5/5.

Extras: 3/5

While the extras in this release pails in comparison of the U.S. Blu-ray; we have the audio commentary by the director, Gareth Evans. Oddly, the commentary does not have any German subs as its in English. Claycat's The Raid which is a stop-motion animation version with cats that was done by a guy who makes Youtube videos. Then we have seven trailers and teasers and tv spots for Germany. And then finally, German dubbed trailers for Margin Call; Black's Game; and Who Killed Marilyn. While it's missing out, I do give the bonus material 3/5.

Overall: 4.5/5

I got this disc off of a Steelbook collector who got rid of the disc for about $5. While it is region free, it's not English friendly. Lucky for me, since German is my second language, this worked out in my favor that I got to experience one of my favorite films in German. If you don't speak German, please wait for my review on the U.S. release by Sony. I give the German Blu-ray 4.5/5.

[Rec.] 2 takes place minutes after the first film has ended. The plot is pretty simple, after the original crew is sent in, another goes in to find any survivors. This group of police are armed to the teeth in helmet cams, which transitions back and forth from one to the next.

With how we get towards the end and with what we get during the film with all the revelations about the plague kinda turned me off of this whole story line. This is just an oddball route to take; the only thing that I can compare it too is like how the first Feast film was great and then by the time we got to the third film it was just downright atrocious. But, for being a horror film that has lots of jump scares, I did enjoy it. I give the movie 3.5/5.

Video: 4/5

Entertainment One has presented [Rec.] 2 in it's original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with an MPEG4 transfer in 1080p. Shot in HD, the quality varies throughout the film. However, it's not as bad as the video quality of another shot on video film I reviewed, like Project X. Mostly the image is crystal clear but there is some video noise that is from the cameras itself, not the digitally manipulated noise that is in post that you can tell is added. I give the film 4/5.

Audio: 5/5

Entertainment One has given [Rec.] 2 two different audio presentations for the film; Spanish DTS-HD MA 5.1 and Spanish LPCM 2.0 stereo. While listening to the audio, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 sounds better of the two tracks.

Extras: 5/5

Entertainment One has given the film a small, but a lot of time consuming bonus materials. First off before we get to the menu, we have trailers for The Tormented, Rec, 7 Days, and Unthinkable. We have an almost two hour documentary of [Rec.] 2 called, In an Infected World. This documentary was all right, it covers most ground about the whole production process. And then another hour of behind the scenes footage. And finally deleted and extended scenes. Watching this all in one sitting can be very over whelming, watch in moderation if interested. 5/5.

Overall: 4.5/5

Entertainment One has given the U.K. a fine disc for [Rec.] 2. Why they couldn't have made this disc region free since they have Canadian rights is beyond me. This disc is region B locked; I managed to buy this used for $3 and for that price, I think I got myself a deal. I give the U.K. release of [Rec.] 2 a 4.5/5.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Doug Liman's Mr. & Mrs. Smith tells the story of two lovers, John Smith (Brad Pitt; Too Young to Die, World War Z) and Jane Smith (Angelina Jolie; Gone in 60 Seconds, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow) who are married and at the same time do not know that they're both hired assassins. After going on a mission, their covers are blown and now all hell breaks loose. Jane's second in command, Jasmine (Kerry Washington; Django Unchained, Lakeview Terrace) wants everything shut down and soon a hit is put out on both John and Jane's heads.

I have a problem with how the movie ends. To give a slight spoiler to a film that's pushing ten years old, there's no resolution. It's left open for a sequel which never happened and a failed television pilot to continue the story. I'm not too much of a fan of Doug Liman as he's claimed that there would be sequels to this and other films (Jumper) which never materialized. I do think that Pitt and Jolie did a good job on this film, but, the failed resolve makes me give this film a 3/5.

Video: 3.5/5

Kinowelt/Studio Canal has presented Mr. & Mrs. Smith in it's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Having not seeing the U.S. Blu-ray by Fox, I do not know if this is the same HD transfer. There is grain present throughout the film, but it looks somewhat scrubbed away. I can't tell if it's DNR or what. But, considering this is ten years old, I doubt this film will look any better. 3.5/5.

Audio: 3.5/5

Kinowelt/Studio Canal has given the film two different audio presentations for the film; English and a German dubbing in DTS-HD HR 7.1. For being this high in terms of audio, I found myself turning up the audio slightly. I encountered this in both audio tracks. I guess if you have the proper sound equipment to play in 7.1 channels, it might sound better. I give the audio presentations 3.5/5.

Extras: 3/5

German dubbed trailers for The Bank Job, Jumper, Meet Dave, Million Dollar Baby, P2 , Premonition, The Sentinel, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Three different audio commentary tracks in DTS; With Simon Kinberg and Doug Liman; Michael Tronick, Jeff Mann, and Kevin Elam; and with producers Lucas Foster and Akiva Goldsman. Deleted scenes. Domestic Violence: The Making of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. And Doug's Filmschool. With all this bonus material, if you're a fan of this film, it might be entertaining; but, I felt somewhat bored with all this.

Overall: 3.5/5

Like my previous review of the German Blu-ray for The Tourist, I got this disc from a Steelbook collector who sold off the Region B locked discs. Studio Canal simply re-uses the original Kinowelt disc because it was made before Studio Canal bought them out. I paid $3 for the disc and I know that the U.S. release goes for under $10. I give this German disc a 3.5/5.

Loki (Richard Grieco, 21 Jump Street) is laying waste to Valhalla in search of the hammer of the Gods. Odin (Kevin Nash) sends the hammer to Earth in his final dying breath. Thor (Cody Deal) and Jarnsaxa (Patricia Velasquez, The Mummy; Mindhunters) evade Loki and his horde of evil monsters to escape to Earth. Loki in his quest for the hammer goes to Earth to kill Thor and to try to take control of the galaxy.
For a film from The Asylum, this one is not as bad, but it's not that great either. I guess Thor running around some major city, I am guessing Los Angeles, with an Uzi was a great idea. I wish I was joking about that last sentence, he's fighting Loki head on and is firing an Uzi at him trying to lay him to waste. There's no real honor in that in my humble opinion.

Also, I am giving some harsh criticism towards whoever thought to put the film in scope. In the behind the scenes stuff, we can clearly see that it's all 16:9 and all of the other Asylum films that I have seen are 16:9. It's like they just decided to crop the top and bottom of the screen without properly adjusting the image. Because most of the top, either Thor or Loki's head is completely chopped off the frame while he is talking. That is unacceptable. I give the film 2/5.

Video: 4/5
Presented in 2.35:1 with an MPEG2 encode; Almighty Thor has somewhat of a better transfer than most of the Asylum films that I have seen. Detail is nice and solid with the bitrate being in the high 20's and even goes into the 30's. The film plays on the colors of blue and grey after the first half hour. I think it helps convey the dismal situation that Loki is putting everyone through. I give the video presentation 4/5.

Audio: 3.5/5

We have two audio tracks on the disc; English Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0. While listening to the audio tracks, the 2.0 stereo track is loud and has more of a kick to it in comparison to the 5.1 surround sound track. If you do decide to watch this film, go with the 2.0 stereo track. I give the audio 3.5/5.

Extras: 3/5

Trailers for Battle of Los Angeles, 200 M.P.H, Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes, Ballistica, Mega Shark Vs Crocosaurus, Princess and the Pony, and Almighty Thor. A nine minute making of which shows how miserable Richard Grieco looks and claims that this film has a 124 page script. Patricia Velasquez points how fast this film is being made in terms of training and shooting, which was two weeks. Cody Deal seems to have everything wrong about this film and how an audience will react. And a blooper reel which is undesirable. I give the extras a 3/5.

Overall: 3/5

I picked this up for $5. I wouldn't pay more than that for this film. I do know that it is available in a triple feature set with The 7 Adventures of Sinbad and John Carter of Mars. As far as Asylum films go, it's better than Alien Origin; Countdown: Armageddon; and 2012: Doomsday. I give this Blu-ray release of Almighty Thor a 3/5.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Paul Verhoeven's satire/sci-fi classic Robocop has arrived again on Blu-ray in a remastered version, just in time for the new remake. Alex Murphy (Peter Weller; Star Trek into Darkness) is new to Detroit and on his first day, he is brutally murdered by Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith; Fortress, That '70's Show) and his gang. At the same time at OCP, Rob Morton (Miguel Ferrer, Iron Man 3) pitches the "future of law enforcement" and it all lands in his lap.

Murphy is now the cybernetic being known as Robocop. Reborn, he is sworn to protect the law. All seems to be going well, until he defects and begins to remember his past life and the people who took his life. After chasing down Boddicker; Robocop learns that more sinster things are afoot.

The movie is a classic with humor and sci-fi elements. I used to watch all three Robocop films all the time when I was a little kid, so this film and the sequels have a special place in my heart. The casting is great as we have Peter Weller playing the protagonist with the existential crisis once he snaps and goes after Boddicker and his buddies. Kurtwood Smith always plays a great villainous role, especially as what most people know him for on That '70's Show. The effects are pretty great with props and the stop motion work on ED-209 is top notch. I give the film a 5/5.

Video: 4.5/5

While I never saw the original 2007 Blu-ray, this new remastered version looks fantastic! Presented in 1080p with an MPEG4 encode in it's original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. It's as close to perfection as we can get, but there is a few shots that I noticed that still looked somewhat rough to my eyes. Now, some of this footage is from television broadcasts with low quality, I can forgive that. How ever, when Murphy is getting killed by Boddicker, some of the shots looked somewhat scrubbed in terms of detail. I also this again when we have several shots with Boddicker's last scene in the film. But, MGM/Fox has given their second 4K remaster (first being The Terminator) a very strong which makes it look like it was shot yesterday. Quality control here is amazing. 4.5/5.

Audio: 5/5

I personally like what Fox does with catalog titles that most studios don't do anymore; make their discs for worldwide use. Universal used to do it back when they started doing Blu-rays in 2008. As my second and third languages are German and French, it always pleases me when I see that there's a German dub available on a U.S. release. The film is available on the disc in twelve different audio languages with encodes varying from DTS-HD MA 5.1 to Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. And also Fox has given the film subtitles in twenty-three different languages; that is a lot of hard work in terms of making a great disc, is it not?

The English DTS-HD MA 5.1 track sounds great. Effects sound live and flow nicely and I personally have no complaints with it. I've also watched the film with the German dub which is presented in DTS 5.1. It sounds weak in comparison. Seeing as how some of the audio tracks range in terms of encodes, I doubt these are remastered tracks. I do give the audio presentation on the original English DTS-HD MA 5.1 a 5/5.

Extras: 5/5

With the exception of the 2012 Q&A with Paul Verhoeven and Peter Weller and some of the people who worked on the film, I am going to assume that most of these bonus features were available on the original 2007 Blu-ray. The Q&A goes on for almost an hour and is insightful as are most of the other bonus features. There's four behind the scenes featurettes, two of which are from 1987; a very nice English commentary which is also available subtitled in German and French. I give the bonus material 5/5.

Overall: 5/5

FOX and MGM has given Robocop a top notch re-release which you can get for under $10. This is worth having in your library of films. This is an example of a demo disc to show off the beautiful high definition quality of Blu-ray. I give this release a 5/5.

Dracula 3D is Dario Argento's take on Bram Stoker's novel. Harker (Unax Ugalde) is on a business trip to work for Dracula (Thomas Kretschmann; Blade II, King Kong). Harker meets Dracula's previous victim and now servant, Tanja (Miriam Giovanelli); and is attacked and bitten. Mina (Marta Gastini, The Rite) arrives in the village and is meet by her old friend Lucy (Asia Argento; xXx, Demons 2).

Dracula seduces Lucy and has her persuade Mina to go to Dracula's castle to find her husband. Once there, Mina cannot figure out where she knows Dracula. When Van Helsing (Rutger Hauer; The Hitcher, The Rite) is called in; Mina may not make it out alive.

I cannot personally decide if I like or loathe this movie. Argento's newer films are not as good as his older films. The film has horrible CGI effects, green screen backdrops, acting, continuity, and atrocious camera work. There are CGI animals and effects which look like they were made with computer equipment from the early 1990's; especially the opening title sequence. Most of the actors in the film do not speak English as a first language; and this film was shot in English. You can tell a good portion of the film is dubbed.

Camera work was pretty bad. Shots will linger on for far too longer than they should. Angles are pretty bizarre too. There's a scene in a church, where the angle is to a point where you can't even see both actors' faces. Who seriously thought this was a good idea? I give the film a 2.5/5.

Video: 5/5

Shot digitally with stereoscopic 3D equipment; Dracula 3D sports a very nice and strong video presentation. We have the film in it's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and in 1080p. Sony Pictures Italy gives this film the video quality that it deserves. While I can only view the film in 2D, color and saturation and grain looks strong. Look at how nice and detailed day time scenes are. It's fantastic. 5/5.

Audio: 5/5

Sony Italy has given the film two audio presentations; English and an Italian dub, both DTS-HD MA 5.1. Oddly, for an Italian Blu-ray, Sony has only given the film the subtitles in French. The English audio sounds great; considering that a lot of sound effects used in the film are reused from the past ten to fifteen years. I give the audio track 5/5.

Extras: 2.5/5

Most of the bonus material is in Italian. Backstage with the Crew; behind the scenes that lasts for fifty minutes. Backstage with the Cast; almost twenty minutes and I was livid while watching this part. Thomas Kretschmann is talking about how he acts and goes on about the film and flat out says; "I have no idea what we are doing here." With how this film is, I can honestly believe that. Rutger Hauer even looks lost and confused talking about this film. And finally a music video called Kiss Me Dracula, by Claudio Simonetti. 2.5/5.

Overall: 4/5

Sony Italy has given Dario's film a great release. However, I don't know if I can honestly recommend the film. I would probably choose Deep Red or Susperia over Dracula 3D. Be cautious going into this film; don't go in thinking this is his return to making great horror. You'll be sadly mistaken. 4/5.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Jackie Chan is a nameless soldier who rises from a field of dead bodies. While scavenging for money and whatever he can find, a general (Leehom Wang; Lust, Caution) from the opposing side rises and is soon soldier's prisoner. While being captive, the general and the soldier try to figure out who informed soldier's army about his side's whereabouts. At the same time, a young hunter from the general's side couldn't find his body and being to slay anyone in his path to find the general.

Released the same year in China as The Spy Next Door, this is the better of the two films. Jackie's comical acting and fighting is hands down the best out of all of the newer films that he's made in the last ten years. And especially when we get towards the end of the film, we see how well Jackie can convey tragedy and can really move you emotionally. I give the film a 4/5.

Video: 5/5

Presented in 2.35:1, Well Go USA has given Little Big Soldier a flawless transfer. The grain is nice and detail is clear. Colors are nice and fleshed out. I really liked how well the colors stand out whenever we have the dream sequences and we see a sea of sun flowers and yellow is strong. 5/5.

Audio: 5/5

Well Go USA has given us four audio tracks for the film; Mandarin and English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. Listening to the English dub was a tough sit through as Jackie Chan is not doing his dubbing for the film. Both DTS-HD MA tracks sound great. I do not understand why we have a Dolby Digital stereo tracks for both languages? Audio is pretty flawless in the action scenes. I give the audio 5/5.

Extras: 2.5/5

Trailers for Shaolin, Legend of the Fist: the Return of Chen Zhen, Kung-Fu Dunk, Ip Man 2; and both U.S. and Chinese trailers for Little Big Soldier. Music video called the Rape Flowers by Jackie Chan, in SD. And finally a fifteen minute making of, in SD. The making of wasn't really that interesting, it kept going on and on and mainly focusing on everyone talking about how great Jackie is. We know Jackie is great and that Jackie did a lot for the film, this was his passion project. And finally, a useless DVD copy of the film. I give the extras a 2.5/5.

Overall: 4/5

I picked this up for $8 used back in 2012. For the price, I can recommend it. If you are a fan of Jackie's work, don't pass this one up. This probably his best performance that I have seen. Well Go USA has given the film an amazing release and I give this Blu-ray presentation 4/5.

The Faculty starts off with Robert Patrick (T2, From Dusk Till Dawn 2) as Willis who is the stereotypical brute football coach hounding his players as he vents his rage on a water sprinkler, an unseen person approaches him and we fade out. After a faculty meeting regarding budgeting classes comes to a close, the coach appears and begins to assult one of the school heads. We then introduce our leads Zeke (Josh Hartnett; H20, 30 Days of Night), Casey (Elijah Wood; Lord of the Rings, Maniac), Stokely (Clea DuVall; Identity), Stan (Shawn Hatosy), Delilah (Jordana Brewster; The Fast and the Furious), and Marybeth (Laura Harris). Each student represents all the basic cliques that you would probably encounter in most, if not all, high schools.

While Casey, who is the nerd/reject, is eating alone out on the football field finds a strange fish-like animal. They all gather in the science class, which is taught by Jon Stewart! Remember when he used to act in movies? Once this happens, they realize that this is possibly an alien life form and Casey suspects the coach as being one of them. The six realize that they may be the only humans left in the school as one by one students are being called into the principal's office for testing. Will they be able to kill the aliens or die trying?

Written by Kevin Williamson of the Scream series, he basically recycles the whole "teens in peril at high school" routine. However, what saves the movie is Robert Rodriguez's direction and the special effects of Robert Kurtzman, Greg Nicotero, and Howard Berger who have worked on a lot of other Rodriguez's films. Most of the casting seemed to fit as I can kind of see these actors playing these types of characters. Personally, I thought the alien looked amazing and live action version of it looked a lot better than the CGI variations that we see throughout the film. I give the film a 4/5.

Video: 3/5
Presented in it's original 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 1080p, Filmyard Holdings has given Echo Bridge another problematic transfer. I will gladly assume, like with initial release of The Crow: City of Angels and some of the previous Miramax/Dimension films that I have reviewed, that this is the original high definition transfer that Disney created back in the day. Detail and clarity comes and goes and leaves the image with more to be desired. Grain levels are also weak as well and most times it feels like it's been scrubbed away with DNR. While, it's not a complete disaster, I give the video presentation for The Faculty a 3/5.

Audio: 5/5
Here's a problem that I have with this disc, we have three audio presentations. All are English; we have a 5.1 DTS-HD MA, 5.1 Dolby Digital, and LPCM 2.0. The default audio track that plays is the DTS-HD MA track and it sounds fantastic. The LPCM 2.0 track sounds exactly the same as the DTS-HD MA. And finally, a horrifying and dull 5.1 Dolby Digital track. Why is there a need for this many audio tracks for the film? We would be substantially fine with just the 5.1 DTS-HD MA track. Do not mistake this rant, the audio is fantastic, and I give it a 5/5.

Extras: 0/5
Sadly, nothing.

Overall: 3/5
Despite the rough video, this is one of Echo Bridge's better Miramax releases. I was able to get this for around six dollars when it came out. For the price, I can gladly recommend it. And considering it was written by Kevin Williamson, it is better than all of those Scream sequels. And it also shows me what I miss about what made Robert Rodriguez a great director in the day. Now it feels like broken promises about sequels we'll never get or are delayed and all this other nonsense we get from him. I give this Blu-ray of The Faculty a 3/5.